He was supported partly by the produce of the "glebe," or land belonging to the parish church, partly by tithe, a tax estimated at one-tenth of the income of each man's land, partly by the offerings of the people.

Needs must we now without delay pass this word along the line "Arm, arm! from slumber cease!" for many a man of them, e'en as he leaps aboard his ship, shall be smitten through the back and sprinkle the ladders with blood, and others shall be fast bound with cords and learn to till our Phrygian glebe.

I just picture inner-city Sydney, not Glebe in particular ... might have been Balmain after all! I've met Melina Marchetta and talked to her about this book and I didn't have Glebe in my head after that conversation either.

Sydney has an inner-city suburb called Glebe. In Hobart there's an area of the city (not sure if it's strictly a suburb) that's still known as The Glebe. Presumably both were actual parish glebes at some point.